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Did you know? World Series Game 4: SF 4, DET 3

Did you know? World Series Game 4: SF 4, DET 3

10/28/12: Pablo Sandoval gets his 24th hit of the postseason, setting a Giants record

By Mike Fiammetta and Jake Kaplan
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MLB.com |

A look at some notable facts and figures from the San Francisco Giants' 4-3 10-inning victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 4 of the World Series at Comerica Park on Sunday night.

 The Giants' World Series championship is the seventh in franchise history and second in the last three years. It is also their second since moving to San Francisco in 1958. Only three teams -- the Yankees (27), Cardinals (11) and Athletics (9) -- have more championships than the Giants.

 San Francisco has won its past seven postseason games, a franchise record. Over that span, the Giants outscored opponents (beginning with the Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series) 32-4 with a pitching staff that combined for a 0.98 ERA.

 The Giants are the first NL team to win two World Series in a three-year span since the Reds, who won in 1975 and '76.

 The Tigers finished the postseason by losing a franchise-record seven consecutive World Series games, a streak that dates to Game 3 of the 2006 Fall Classic. The Phillies and Braves are the only franchises with longer such streaks, each losing eight in a row at one point. The Padres also lost seven in a row from Game 3 of the 1984 World Series through Game 4 of the 1998 Series.

 San Francisco's 94-68 regular-season record was the best for an NL World Series champion since the Dodgers went 94-67 in 1988.

 Pablo Sandoval is the second player in Giants history to be named the World Series MVP after Edgar Renteria won the honor in 2010. It was not awarded until 1955. Sandoval is the 10th third baseman to be named the MVP of the World Series.

 Sandoval, who hit 8-for-16 with a double, three home runs and four RBIs in the Fall Classic, finished with a franchise-record 24 postseason hits, one shy of the all-time record shared by David Freese, Darin Erstad and Marquis Grissom. His .500 average in the World Series is ninth-best all-time.

 Sunday marked the eighth time a World Series was clinched in an extra-inning game. The last time it happened was in the 1997 Fall Classic, when Renteria, then of the Marlins, singled home Craig Counsell to win the game in 11 innings.

 Game 4 was the 57th extra-inning game in World Series history. NL teams have now won 26 of those games, while the American League has won 28. Three have ended in a tie. Overall, the home team won 35 of the 57 games.

 Teams that sweep LCS in the same year the other LCS goes seven games are now 0-4 and have never lasted longer than five games.

 The Tigers are the third team to sweep their opponents in an LCS before getting swept in the World Series. They join the 1990 Athletics and the 2007 Rockies.

 The Giants, who have now clinched five of their seven World Series titles on the road, were 10-1 when scoring first in games during the 2012 playoffs.

 Sergio Romo finished this postseason with only one run allowed on four hits over 10 2/3 innings (0.88 ERA). The Giants' closer struck out nine batters and walked one en route to becoming the seventh player to notch at least three saves in a single World Series.

 Detroit's Miguel Cabrera took a called strike three to end the Series, marking the first time the World Series has ended on a called strike three since at least 1949. The only other documented called third strike to end the Fall Classic came in 1925, but there are three years (1903, '33 and '49) in which the Series ended with a strikeout, but historical data doesn't indicate whether or not the batter went down swinging.

 Cabrera's third-inning homer to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead snapped the Giants' streak of not trailing in their last 56 consecutive innings. The only longer streak in postseason history came in 2004, when the Red Sox led their opponents in 60 straight innings.

 Sunday marked Matt Cain's eighth career postseason start, the third most in Giants history. Only Christy Mathewson, with 11 postseason starts, and Art Nehf, with nine, have more.

 Cabrera and Prince Fielder struggled in the World Series, combining to hit just .148 (4-for-27). Fielder was 1-for-14.

 Delmon Young hit his eighth career postseason homer as a Tiger on Sunday night. That mark leads Detroit's all-time list. Cabrera is second with six.

 Ryan Theriot, who played as the designated hitter for the first time in his career on Sunday, has now won back-to-back World Series. He was also a member of the 2011 Cardinals team.

 Brandon Belt's second-inning triple was his first hit of the World Series. He was 0-for-10 in Games 1 through 3.

 Cabrera has reached base in each of his 24 postseason games with the Tigers, a franchise record, and in 37 of 41 career playoff games.

 At one point on Sunday night, Tigers reliever Phil Coke had struck out each of the seven Giants he had faced in the World Series.

 The World Series ended on Oct. 28 for the second year in a row.

Mike Fiammetta and Jake Kaplan are associate reporters for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.